Missing female guinea fowls

[CassandraDandridge]

Hi all

Ive had my first flock of 10 guinea fowl for a few months.

We have slowly been losing 1 by 1. I've only just realised that it's the females, not the males that have disappeared. We now have 1 young female left. (4 males)

There seems to be no signs of kills including lose feathers.

There's been a few nights where they have decided to sleep very high up in a tree and not in their coop. The odd time I have be outside at the crack of dawn and all fowls have been accounted for. I have a gut feeling that it's the early hours of the morning they disappear. Today's hen went missing in between 9am and 2pm.

Any ideas?

 

[R2elk]

Hi all

Ive had my first flock of 10 guinea fowl for a few months.

We have slowly been losing 1 by 1. I've only just realised that it's the females, not the males that have disappeared. We now have 1 young female left. (4 males)

There seems to be no signs of kills including lose feathers.

There's been a few nights where they have decided to sleep very high up in a tree and not in their coop. The odd time I have be outside at the crack of dawn and all fowls have been accounted for. I have a gut feeling that it's the early hours of the morning they disappear. Today's hen went missing in between 9am and 2pm.

Any ideas?

Where are you located?

In the southern hemisphere, it is likely guinea laying season which may mean that your hens are sitting on hidden nests. They are extremely vulnerable to predators at this stage.

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Where are you located?

In the southern hemisphere, it is likely guinea laying season which may mean that your hens are sitting on hidden nests. They are extremely vulnerable to predators at this stage.

Ok, so, we went from 7, 6, today was 5. Yesterday we went Looking for nests, didn't find anything.

Today I saw flock hanging around a particular spots and kept going back to it. I go over to take a squiz, and found missing #6 and #7 on a nest

Is there anyway I can protect them while not distributing them to much? Or let nature do its thing ?

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Ok, so, we went from 7, 6, today was 5. Yesterday we went Looking for nests, didn't find anything.

Today I saw flock hanging around a particular spots and kept going back to it. I go over to take a squiz, and found missing #6 and #7 on a nest

Is there anyway I can protect them while not distributing them to much? Or let nature do its thing ?

In

Where are you located?

In the southern hemisphere, it is likely guinea laying season which may mean that your hens are sitting on hidden nests. They are extremely vulnerable to predators at this stage.

In the great Southern

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Listen to someone who had this problem with chickens.
Set up a camera and you’ll find out what happens. Then get electric fencing/run roof/automatic chicken door or whatever is needed.

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Listen to someone who had this problem with chickens.
Set up a camera and you’ll find out what happens. Then get electric fencing/run roof/automatic chicken door or whatever is needed.

I'm keen to put cameras up , since theres no evidence of kills, I'm interested to see what's going on.

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

I'm keen to put cameras up , since theres no evidence of kills, I'm interested to see what's going on.

Yeah, we found a fox broke into the coop window and grabbed the chickens and ran out.

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Yeah, we found a fox broke into the coop window and grabbed the chickens and ran out.

Bloody foxes. I assume there was a messy of feathers etc

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Bloody foxes. I assume there was a messy of feathers etc

Actually no... he got in once so we shot one and he probably found out we caught the evidence (the feathers everywhere and he was carrying one of our dead chickens in his mouth) so he probably tried to be careful

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Actually no... he got in once so we shot one and he probably found out we caught the evidence (the feathers everywhere and he was carrying one of our dead chickens in his mouth) so he probably tried to be careful

Yeh I wanna sit out one night but need more bullets ... And I like my sleep